Alex Mercer
Alexander J. Mercer, aka Alex Mercer and Zeus, is the protagonist/antihero of PROTOTYPE. Background Before his infection, Alex Mercer experienced a brutal childhood spent in poverty: his first nine years were spent in foster care. When he turned 10, he was finally returned to his mother, who spent the last nine years in prison, but for Alex it was better to be in foster care. However, his intellect and aptitude in science provided him an opportunity to leave behind his troubled past. He trusted no one, had no friends, couldn't care less what others thought of him, and found solace only in his work. By the time he was hired by Gentek, Alex was a borderline sociopath. After earning a doctorate in genetics at Columbia University, Mercer was hired by Gentek and became the head of the Blacklight project at Gentek. Alex's team was concerned with engineering weaponized viruses from samples given to them by the government. The samples provided exhibited curious behavior, including mimicry and retention of genetic information from infected hosts. With Alex’s help, the team soon engineered a particularly virulent and potent virus codenamed "BLACKLIGHT." Alex’s skill in altering genes made him a valuable asset to GENTEK; his work was years ahead of his nearest competitor. Despite his successes, Alex Mercer was considered a potential liability by Blackwatch, an elite army created to combat exotic threats. Over time, GENTEK became scrutinized by Congress and investigations were proposed. Fearing an information leak, Blackwatch decided to cover it all up. Alex, due to his paranoid nature, began to launch his own secret investigation on GENTEK. Using the assistance of Dana, an investigative reporter and his sister, Alex realized that GENTEK employees associated with BLACKLIGHT were silenced by Blackwatch. When he learned that a general purge was about to be unleashed upon the GENTEK scientists, Alex attempted to flee. In the event he was caught, Alex brought insurance—he smuggled a vial of BLACKLIGHT virus, and mailed a laptop with classified documents to his sister. But BLACKWATCH was too quick for him. While attempting to escape the city by train, Alex was caught in Penn Station. In vengeance, he smashed the vial with the Blacklight virus on the floor, starting the biological apocalypse. He was promptly shot by plainclothes Blackwatch operatives. Moments later, his corpse was absorbed by the BLACKLIGHT virus, imbuing him with a monstrous power.(some say that Alex is Green's son) Storyline Prototype follows the story of Alex Mercer, an amnesia-stricken man with superhuman abilities. Alex wakes up in a morgue on the slab before two scientists open him to the torso, with no memory of his past. After escaping, he finds himself trapped in Manhattan being pursued by the military. He soon discovers that he has the capability to Consume the power of those whom he kills, taking their memories, skills, and even their appearance. With no recollection of where he came from, Alex is forced to track down those responsible for his situation and consume them in order to uncover the truth behind what has been done to him, caught between the Blackwatch Special Forces and an ever growing virus-infected population. After Alex consumes Lt Charles Perri he learns about his sister. Mercer hopes that his sister, Dana, my have some information regarding what happened to him, so he goes to makes contact with her. However, when he arrive to her apartment, he see soldiers, so he disguises himself as a Blackwatch commander and manages to get in. When Alex enters he sees Dana being held by a Blackwatch soldier. Dana headbutts the Blackwatch soldier before Alex impales him with his fist. Dana is terrified from having witnessed this, but Alex convinces her to help him. Dana tells Alex that she knew there was something wrong going on at GENTEK. When she asks Alex what happened to him, he tells her that he doesn't know. She then reminds Alex that he had her researching the GENTEK organization for weeks. When she was looking for him to relay her findings, he had already disappeared. The conversation incites a flashback, in which Alex sees the ID card of Dr. McMullen. When he snaps back to the conversation, Dana tells him that she hadn't seen him for five years until he showed up at her door a month before the events of the game. Alex asks her if there is somewhere they can go to avoid the military's pestering. She says she knows a place. They relocate to a safe house that belongs to Dana's friends, who are out of town for a year. On the wall, Alex sees several photos and files bearing the words "TOP SECRET." and there is a Map with two location marked on it Alex Apartment and GENTEK facility. Alex asks Dana if she knows what it all means. She says that she doesn't, but insists that the two of them work together to uncover whatever conspiracies are at work. Dana tells Alex that Blackwatch was waiting for her at her apartment, figuring that they must also be waiting at his. Dana tells Alex where he lives. Alex arrives at his apartment and sees a photo of him and Dana and a graduate certificate from the University of New York. He also sees a photo of him with a blonde woman ( Karen Parker ). When he touches the photo he experiences a flashback in which he sees himself with Karen, his girlfriend. When the flashback is over, it becomes apparent that the onset of these flashbacks are painful to him. Just as he is recovering, Blackwatch detonates a bomb that had been planted in the apartment, meant to kill him. He astonishngly survives, despite having been thrown out a window and down to the streets several stories below. Alex hunts down and consumes the man who gave the order to detonate the bomb. Alex returns to the safe house where Dana shows him his laptop, stored on which are photos of a girl. Alex recognizes the girl. Dana tells him that the file has only two names in it: Alex Mercer and Elizabeth Greene, the girl in the photo. The file also says that she is being isolated in the GENTEK building. He also locates his ex-girlfriend, Karen Parker. Dana continues to assist Mercer in locating his targets, while Karen promises him a cure for his disease. In reality, Parker is working for Blackwatch and manipulates Mercer into stealing genetic material they can use to create a parasite capable of suppressing most of his powers. Blackwatch specialist Captain Cross then injects the parasite into Mercer, rendering most of his powers useless. Alex returns to Dana who shows him that Blackwatch is keeping an eye on a doctor for McMullen, Dr. Bradley Ragland. Dana then tells Alex that this doctor is a good guy and if he finds him, he can help them get to McMullen. Before Alex leaves, she shows him what she found about Hope, Idaho and Greene when Alex says Hope was an experiment. She asks how he could know that, making Alex admit that he's killed a great number of people and their minds and memories are now within him. Dana was shocked for what her brother has become. However, with the help of Dr. Ragland, Mercer was cured (as in getting the strand of the virus back), leading him to get his abilities back (gaining the blade and armor powers as a result). During all of this, Mercer is placed as the number one terrorist threat in the entire United States due to treasonous activities against the United States and its allies. During one of Alex and Dana's meetings, Dana is kidnapped by a Leader Hunter (an ultimately larger and stronger hunter than the rest). Alex pursues this Leader Hunter across the city, but is ultimately unable to rescue Dana. With the help of Dr. Ragland, Alex locates and consumes the same Leader Hunter that kidnapped Dana, learning that her location in the core hive in the center of the city. Alex is eventually able to penetrate the hive, where he confronts Elizabeth Greene. Elizabeth Greene tells Alex that she is his mother. During a struggle, Greene seemingly bests Alex, but he is able to inject Greene with a syringe containing the cure. Greene's body rejects the cure and spouts a large amount of fluid biomatter, from which the Supreme Hunter is born. Alex defeats the Supreme Hunter and saves Dana. As he leaves, Alex steps in a puddle of blood, which happens to be the remains of the matter that was the Supreme Hunter. After Alex steps in it, a hand slowly emerges from the puddle, which indicates the regeneration of the matter. As the conspiracy unfolds, with the assistance of an unidentified contact, the origins of Mercer, the virus and Elizabeth Greene are uncovered. In 1969, the government had tested a virus codenamed REDLIGHT in Hope, Idaho. This virus was designed as a biological warfare agent, targeting those of a predetermined race. The virus unexpectedly mutated into something far deadlier, infecting the whole population of Hope. Elizabeth Greene was the sole survivor of the incident; her body welcomed the virus rather than dying from it and it had rewritten her genetic code, along with that of her son, who was taken from her by Blackwatch and codenamed PARIAH. This inspired the government to continue research into the virus, cooperating with GENTEK corporation. Scientists at GENTEK locked Greene in a cell which had been used to research BLACKLIGHT, the new virus present in Greene. They continued to study the different strains of the virus that formed throughout her system as a means of accelerating the biological weapons program. When GENTEK employees with knowledge of the BLACKLIGHT virus started to disappear, Alex Mercer, who worked for GENTEK, attempted to go underground and stole a sample of the virus as "life insurance". Eventually he was cornered by Blackwatch forces in Penn Station. Blackwatch demanded that Alex stop and give up, but instead, he whips the virus sample at the ground, releasing the virus. Alex was immediately killed on the spot at Penn Station. Alex died next to where the virus had smashed on the ground, and it circulated into his bloodstream which led to his infection. By the time he was brought to the morgue, the virus had completely taken over his body and incorporating its genetic structure into his own, literally copying him cell by cell. Before long, the military begins deploying a new biological agent, Bloodtox, engineered to kill the virus and its hosts. When the chemical is deployed across the city, the infection goes underground to escape it, and has subsequently amassed. The anonymous contact tells Mercer to aid the military in pumping the Bloodtox directly into the ground. They hope that it will drive the virus to the surface, allowing Blackwatch to fight it directly. Elizabeth Greene, now a giant monster, comes to the surface and is killed and consumed by Mercer. He then attempts to absorb McMullen, the Head of Research and founder of GENTEK, but McMullen commits suicide before Mercer has the chance. It becomes apparent that the government is prepared to nuke Manhattan to destroy the virus. The contact, revealed to be Captain Cross, then guides Mercer to consume Colonel Taggart, who is attempting to flee the city, as means of getting onto the USS Ronald Reagan where the bomb is being held. Cross betrays Mercer once on the ship, and is revealed to be the Supreme Hunter. Cross is not Elizabeth Green's son as it is widely believed, but rather a human who was consumed by the Supreme Hunter after it had been beaten by Alex. It battles Mercer on the deck of the Reagan and is subsequently decapitated by Mercer. Mercer takes the nuclear bomb into the Atlantic Ocean, causing it to detonate underwater, but catching Mercer in the blast. However, he regenerates from a crow, saying "What have I become? Something less than human, but also something more." referring to how he has become superhuman at the cost of his humanity. After the credits, Manhattan is seen in a recovering state, with the virus almost completely destroyed, and Alex atop the Reuters Building in Times Square and speaking the words, "One virus, three weeks, millions dead... and I was there. My name was Alex Mercer, and my work is almost done". The player is then allowed to free roam, complete events, earn achievements / '''trophies or start a new game with the same abilities and statistics as the one which has already been completed. Powers Superhuman Abilities Alex's most obvious powers are his superhuman strength, speed,agility and durability (both disease and physical). He is strong enough to lift cars, helicopters, and tanks and throw them with casual ease, as well punching through enemies (with and without muscle mass and also one of his consuming moves). Alex is also very fast and agile. He can achieve running speeds surpassing cars, around 60 mph, and he can perform flips and rolls and maneuvers over and around vehicles and debris with little trouble. He can achieve a vertical jumping height of 8-10 (at least) city-type stories and can leap across a whole city block in length. Alex can run up sheer vertical surfaces and cling to walls for an indefinate period of time. Alex is also capable of gliding, by making his biomass lighter in the air and ejecting small amounts of mass for further propulsion. He is durable enough to survive direct hits from hellfire missiles, tank shells and hunters. He also seems completely unaffected by falls; even from the top levels of skyscrapers. He has displayed regenerative abilities powerful enough to allow him to reform from being turned to mush by a nuclear blast, so long as there is some source of biomass to absorb. Also, his health will regenerate when he is not receiving damage (no biomass needed). Alex can see in both thermal and infected vision (the latter allowing him to visually detect concentrations of the virus). His primary power, however, involves the aforementioned Biomass. He can absorb organic matter of living creatures. This provides him with not only a boost to his health, but also allows him to access and utilize any knowledge, experience, memories or skills that his prey possessed. He can manipulate his own biomass into concentrated areas on his body for a number of weapons, a shield, or even full body armor. Finally, when he absorbs excessive biomass, he can unleash it in powerful attacks with a large area of effect, known as "devastators". Alex can adapt to what harms him, for example: he develops an immunity to the bloodtox after repeated exposure. We can also assume that with prolonged exposer harmful conditions will also make him immune. Offensive Powers Alex can form his biomass into a variety of weapons, mostly slicing or crushing tools. In combat, he either uses biomass to augment his strength or create various blades and clubs. Defensive Powers Alex can use two defensive powers, guarding him against enemy attacks and weapons. Alex has two forms of defense, the Armor, and the Shield. Disguise Power Everyone Alex consumes can be used to disguise Alex, evading the military as a civilian disguise and evading / surprise attacking in a military disguise. And is also very useful in roaming the city in a hurry if you dont want the pesky military hot on your trail while you are having fun or doing missions. '''Deleted Powers Some of Alex's deleted Powers include the porcuipine defense power where Alex turns all spiky and skewers anyone he runs into instantly killing them. Another one that was rumoured was dual swords where Alex could create a tornado while spinning around fast enough sucking small enemies in and chopping them to pieces, this move would've been called the Blender. Original Design Alex Mercer's original design was jeans, a white hoodie with a brown bubble jacket over the top and his powers were grey/white when they showed up. This is Alex Mercer using his claws and what is to be believed his armoured state in his early development form. Quote Trivia *General Randall regards Alex as an "it", and became irritated when Captain Cross described Alex as a "he". *In the beta of Prototype, Alex was depicted with a grey bubble jacket and white hoodie. He was later changed as to differ from Altair from Assassin's Creed. *It is mentioned in a bio for Alex, located on the official Prototype website, that he has blue eyes and brown hair, although in game his eyes appear silver - this may be due to some unknown side-effect of this virus, though improbable (because Dana Mercer and Karen Parker both have similary discolored eyes). While some people may easily notice his eyes and their color, the hoodie he wears makes it nearly impossible to see his hair. His bio also states that he is five feet and ten inches (5'10"), weighs 190 pounds in completely human form, and is twenty-nine years old. *His official bio also states his "personality traits" which are: distant, predatory, super-intelligent, terrifying, vengeful, blank, and searching. *In an Web of Intrigue memory, it is speculated by Blackwatch operatives that Alex is the first and only male Runner in the history of the BLACKLIGHT Virus. *Alex has dark brown hair and a flat-top hairstyle. This is shown in one of the mission-ending cut scenes. It shows a photo of him and Karen together, and he is wearing a plaid shirt. *When you activate a power, stand idle for a few minutes. Alex will do some action that resembles his current power. Ex. With the Hammerfist, he beats his fist together. * Alex's hoodie colors are the colors of the two major factions in the game, BLACKWATCH and The Infected. *Alex Mercer work was fundamental in unlocking the BLACKLIGHT virus and he also make it more dangerous by a factor of ten in three years. *Tim Bennison, the executive producer of Prototype, described Alex Mercer as one of the most powerful video game characters ever created. *Alex Mercer died when he was 29 years old, and ZEUS was 3 weeks old by the end of the game, the BLACKLIGHT virus having infected his corpse three weeks earlier. *One of the things Alex and PARIAH have in common is they are been called "It" instead of "He", Alex by General Randall and PARIAH by one of the scientist in one of the Node of Intrigue. *Alex (ZEUS) said revenge was the only clear thought in his head and the only thing he could call "Mine", this possibly because when the real Alex Mercer died all what he was thinking in was revenge. *Since Alex (ZEUS) is the BLACKLIGHT virus and the BLACKLIGHT is an offshoot of the REDLIGHT, this mean REDLIGHT imeans the progenitor for the BLACKLIGHT virus and Alex (ZEUS). *Since there is more than one variant of the BLACKLIGHT virus, and if others happened to them the same thing happened to Mercer, ZEUS may have brothers and sisters. *Dennis Detwiller, the senior designer, said there is "no cute fuzzy bunny in Alex Mercer's future." *At the end of the game, Alex kills (or is the result of the death of) the head of each faction: Gentek (McMullen), Blackwatch (Randall), Marines (Taggart), and Infected (Greene). Gallery Pro1_Alex_Concept_Art_Outfit.png|Concept art Pro1_Alex_Face_Concept_Art.png|Concept art Pro1_Final_Alex_Concept_art.png|Concept Art File:ALEX_MERCER-CONCEPT-1-.png|Concept art Pro1_Alex_Mercer_Concept_Art_Scientist.png Alex Mercer.jpg|Concept art Images-1-.jpg|Concept art Concept-Claws-1-.png|Concept art Concept-Armor-1-.png|Concept art Pro1_Alex_Crowd_Concept_Art.png|Early concept art Pro1_Very_Early_Alex_Concept_Art.png|Very early concept art Alex-facial-expressions-1-.jpg|Alex facial expressions Mercer-Concept-1-.jpg Prototype1 2-1-.jpg Concept-prototype-1-.jpg Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Infected